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Thoughts On Pay Equity

So, Molly needed a job, she wasn’t desperate, but she needed a job. She is highly educated, experienced and deserves a management position.

Molly applied for some jobs, and received a job interview. She nailed it. Good for her, I knew she would.

They offered her the job, she told them what she was worth. They tried to trim it down, she said no. She explained she was the best candidate for the job, they went back and forth. They finally offered what she said she was worth.

She started on Monday.

Be like Molly, or be like the internet and scream about #PayEquity

Your choice, ladies.

Adding answers to the first three arguments.

1. You can’t negotiate your salary
Yes, you can, if you don’t like the salary, you get up and leave. Don’t accept less than you’re worth.

2. Well, I accepted the job and learned the men make more
Pssst, they’ve been there longer than you….

3. You’re just an idiot and should shut the fuck up
Ya, you might be right, but I can’t stop, sorry.

Me and my boyfriend have discussions about this ALL THE TIME. Women want “Pay Equality” for a job they JUST GOT HIRED TO or for a job where THEY DONT EVEN DO THEIR JOB WELL. If you want higher pay? Work for it! They refuse to give you a raise when you know without a doubt after some time there that you deserve it then find a job that will. EVERYONE has those struggles, the ones who get paid more are the ones who worked for it.

While I do believe there’s more to it than this (obviously), I do think a HUGE part of the pay inequality issue is exactly as you’ve pointed out — women are FAR less likely to negotiate their salary and therefore settle for less.

What about when you discover, after 15 years of excellent work and performance reviews to match that men doing the equal job are being paid more? Even men doing a lesser job are being paid more. And all those men don’t do the job as well as you do. Of course you leave, but you find, when you look around, it won’t be different anywhere else and to your point, you start over again in seniority. In my case, I retired from the industry and the career I took 25 years to build. I’m starting my own business. But, that seems to be the case with a lot of us GenXer’s anyway.